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Gardening at Altitude

Carol O'Meara For the Camera

Posted:
04/22/2013 02:51:47 PM MDT

Updated:
04/22/2013 02:52:47 PM MDT

Thinking of doing your part to conserve water without compromising a beautiful landscape filled with flowers? Having a xeriscape doesn't mean all rocks and cactus, with a few thorny and uninviting shrubs thrown in. Being sustainable in Colorado is something to celebrate, and more people are catching on to the glory that is a dryland garden. We just need a little help in picking out the plants to thrive with low water.

Conditions here are not for the faint of heart; only the toughest survive. Too often, adorable plants better suited to the coddled yards of England seduce you into purchasing them, and you're left to deal with guilt once they succumb to the tender mercies of a Colorado summer.

Fortunately for us, the Center for ReSource Conservation, in partnership with the cities of Arvada, Boulder, Brighton, Castle Pines, Fort Collins, Golden, Greeley, Longmont, Loveland, and Westminster offer a water smart solution: their annual sale of Garden-In-A-Box kits, professionally designed to provide eye popping beauty on a thin water diet. Lafayette's number of subsidized gardens has sold out, but the gardens may still be purchased at full price. These plant-by-numbers xeriscape gardens are an easy, convenient way to jump into having a garden filled with plants tough enough for the wild, dry west.

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In keeping with the CRC's water division's mission to help Colorado residents conserve water, the gardens are custom made by talented designers who live here. Hand-picked for our region's dry conditions, the designs are filled with bold color and eye pleasing textures. They require less than half the water of bluegrass lawns and, according to local and national realtors, can increase property values by up to 15 percent. Gardens cost between $99 and $134, depending on the design chosen.

"It's important to recognize that xeriscaping does not mean covering your landscape with rocks and cactus -- or that you can't have any bluegrass." says Dan Stellar, CRC's Water Division Director, in a press release. "The key is to come up with a landscape design that will suit your needs while still conserving water. Garden-In-A--Box does just that."

Interested shoppers can choose from: the Morning Sunrise, Western Horizon and Shady Jubilee, perfect for those wanting elegant beauty in perennial gardens. Sunny or shady spots are livened up with drought hardy plants like Himalayan Border Jewel, Blazing Star liatrus, and Plumbago your garden will shrug off poor soils and low water. Check out photos of the gardens at gardenstore.conservationcenter.

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Garden-In-A-Boxes include plants and easy-to-follow planting and care instructions. To make your move to xeriscape complete, the CRC offers drip irrigation kits with individual plant emitters, and water control clocks to turn irrigation on and off automatically.

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